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The Orient Express Journey Begins: The World's Most Iconic Train | Full Documentary — Transcript

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0:05[narrator] It's the beginning of a revolution in travel.
0:08Across Europe in palaces on rails.
0:12A meeting place for distinguished passengers
0:15with special demands.
0:21Diplomats use the wagons
0:23for negotiations
0:25and, more than once, history is written in these cars.
0:31The train attracts robbers
0:33and madmen,
0:35but, above all, it links the Occident and the Orient.
0:40For many people, it still holds a magical attraction.
0:47It was born out of
0:48a visionary's idea
0:50of connecting Paris to Constantinople.
0:54Yet, who was this Belgian who risked it all
0:57and invented the Orient Express?
1:01For decades, Georges Nagelmackers
1:03fights for the project of his life
1:05against politicians,
1:06against bankers and against his family.
1:10This is crazy!
1:13[narrator] How could this man be that successful
1:15and create a network of night trains
1:17to serve Europe's major cities,
1:19right up to the present day?
1:22The search for its origins leads to unique vehicles,
1:25which evoke the early days of the Orient Express
1:32and it unveils the subtle diplomacy
1:35which helped Nagelmackers succeed
1:37in overcoming the borders of 19th century Europe.
1:44Nagelmackers' life is a passionate European love story,
1:48which finds its fulfillment between Paris and Constantinople.
1:55[train whistle blows]
1:58[suspenseful music playing]
2:04[narrator] For George Nagelmackers,
2:06October 4th 1883 is a crucial day.
2:09Bonsoir, Monsieur. Bon voyage.
2:13[narrator] At the Gare de Strasbourg, today's Gare de'l Est in Paris,
2:17the first Orient Express is ready.
2:20However, its 24 passengers are skeptical,
2:23as, three months before,
2:2438-year-old Nagelmackers
2:26had cancelled the widely-announced inaugural departure
2:29at the last moment.
2:31That's why a lot of people have betted against the success of this journey
2:35and the stakes are high, with good reason.
2:38The period around 1870 was the beginning of imperialism,
2:42when the European powers all aspired
2:44to become regional or even world powers
2:47and were increasingly shutting themselves off from each other.
2:52[narrator] In Nuremberg, in the most extensive railway library of Europe,
2:56historian Rainer Mertens
2:57is researching the development of the railway.
3:02[Mertens] Railway systems back then were a patchwork.
3:06Everywhere, there were different safety systems, different clearance gauges,
3:10also partially different gauges.
3:13All the more amazing that, at this very point in time,
3:17a Belgian entrepreneur is trying to build a railroad
3:20across state lines to the Middle East
3:23through all these rival powers.
3:33Bon voyage.
3:34[narrator] Nagelmackers has invested all his assets in the cars.
3:38To Edmond About,
3:40a journalist and writer invited along for the journey,
3:42the idea of this train is plain crazy.
3:45[Nagelmackers] Bienvenue, Monsieur About,
3:48welcome to the Orient Express.
3:50Good evening. Which compartment?
3:53Number three, Monsieur.
3:56Good evening. Welcome aboard.
4:00[narrator] Several bank directors are coming along, too.
4:03They fear for the money they have lent Nagelmackers for his project.
4:07[Nagelmackers] Your Excellency.
4:09[narrator] The Ottoman ambassador is also present.
4:13Yet, the most important passenger is still missing.
4:18It's The Times' French correspondent,
4:20Henri Stéphane de Blowitz.
4:22His article will be decisive for the success of the company.
4:28[male voice] Attendez!
4:30Wait for me!
4:32-Monsieur! -Ah, Monsieur Blowitz,
4:35it's an honor.
4:37The Times is sending their best man.
4:39You got that right.
4:40I thought you'd pinch,
4:43just like last time, three months ago.
4:46[Nagelmackers] Come, please.
4:47[de Blowitz sighs] Thank you!
4:53[narrator] Thus, a risky journey begins,
4:56as the Orient Express must use the tracks of two archenemies,
5:00Germany and France,
5:02and, up until then, trains were mainly used
5:04to transport troops.
5:08Nagelmackers, however, wants to take passengers
5:11from Paris to Constantinople,
5:14across all European borders
5:16for the first time in history.
5:19About notes:
5:22[About] After Nagelmackers first attempt
5:24with three-axle cars had gone wrong,
5:26I was merely expecting a kind of larger, dusty ambulance.
5:30Uncomfortable and full of soot.
5:34[narrator] Nagelmackers can't be sure that all his partners
5:36will adhere to their contracts.
5:44The Orient Express required no less
5:46than ten different contracts.
5:49The train started in Paris.
5:51So, Nagelmackers had to negotiate a contract
5:54with the French Eastern Railway company,
5:56with the Imperial Railway for Alsace-Lorraine,
5:59with the royal house of Württemberg,
6:01with the Bavarians, with Austro-Hungary,
6:04then with the Romanians
6:05and that was certainly a masterstroke,
6:07since nothing like it had ever been done before.
6:20[narrator] On the first day of the journey, Edmund About notes critically:
6:24[About] During my travels up until now,
6:26all the cars had been cramped and were jerking about so hard
6:30that I could hardly sleep.
6:32The air on the trains was bad, the heating broken,
6:35the food mediocre, the toilet dirty.
6:39Why, of all people, should this young Belgian do better?
6:44[narrator] Nuremberg.
6:46In the world's oldest railway museum,
6:48historian Christina Block
6:50is particularly interested in the age in which Nagelmackers lived.
6:56The pride of the collection
6:57is the S 2/6,
6:59a steam locomotive which, from 1907 onwards,
7:02pulled the Orient Express.
7:04In Europe, at that time, you traveled longer distances
7:07by a horse-drawn carriage,
7:09which was not very comfortable.
7:11It went over very bumpy roads, through mud and slush.
7:15Horses had to be changed again and again.
7:19[narrator] Traveling was an ordeal.
7:21To get from Paris to Vienna took a man on horseback
7:23about 14 days.
7:27Nagelmackers wasn't just thinking of how to get people from A to B.
7:31He wanted the journey to be as comfortable as possible.
7:36[narrator] A lateral thinker.
7:37Even as a teenager, he was considered maladjusted.
7:41Born 1845 in Liège,
7:45growing up in the small Château Nagelmackers,
7:48the course for his professional future was set.
7:51His father owned the oldest Belgian private bank.
7:55Young Georges should join its staff.
7:57Yet, the 19-year-old would rather go to university
8:00to study civil engineering,
8:02much to the displeasure of his family
8:05and that wasn't all.
8:08The Orient Express only exists because,
8:11in the beginning, there was a love story.
8:14Georges Nagelmackers was working in the bank.
8:18One day, he told his father
8:19that he wanted to marry his older cousin.
8:23In a Catholic family, marriage to a cousin is unthinkable.
8:27So, his father decided to put an end to that relationship.
8:31He sent his son off to the United States of America.
8:37[narrator] In the Wild West,
8:38Nagelmackers discovers the Pullman sleeping cars.
8:41In 1869, American rail tracks
8:44had met at Promontory point,
8:46linking the East and the West coast.
8:49Competing railway companies were building ever-new lines.
8:54Now, passengers needed only one week
8:57from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
9:01Nagelmackers is fascinated
9:03and disgusted at the same time:
9:05The Pullman cars have neither toilets nor spaces for dining.
9:10[Block] In America, Pullman cars were designed quite differently.
9:14You have to think of it a little bit as a class excursion.
9:17You have one big car as a dormitory
9:20with, in longitudinal direction, wooden banks,
9:23which can't have been very comfortable.
9:25Privacy was simply not as important in Europe at the time.
9:31[narrator] So, in America, traveling meant roughing it.
9:35Nagelmackers strived for more, in Europe.
9:40Back in Liège, at 23,
9:42he outlines a business plan.
9:47He intends to have a new
9:48type of sleeping car
9:50built according to his ideas
9:52and attach it to the express trains
9:53of other railway companies.
9:56He publishes a paper called:
9:58"Project for the Introduction of the Sleeping Car on the Tracks of Europe."
10:04Yet, in Europe, all there was at the time
10:07were small, two-axle cars.
10:09They offered seats for just six passengers.
10:13The seats could be turned into improvised beds,
10:15an arrangement less than comfortable.
10:18So, there's a lot of skepticism.
10:24Edmond About, too, harbors some definite doubts.
10:30[About] I assume that, at night,
10:32the passengers will lie in bunk beds
10:34on top of each other. Two to four persons.
10:37Most men will snore terribly
10:39and possibly, worse things will happen.
10:42I feel no inclination to go in there.
10:48[narrator] Back then, there were no beds for the staff in standard sleeping cars.
10:52Over long distances, that's a problem.
10:55Nagelmackers' team consists of six employees.
10:58Where are they going to spend the nights?
11:01Bonne nuit.
11:03[narrator] Yet, Nagelmackers is innovative.
11:07He has a "second floor"
11:08installed for his employees.
11:14There was a lot of attention to detail.
11:18I used to be a sleeping car attendant myself
11:20and I can tell how well the cars were thought out.
11:25From the beds, which could be put in different positions,
11:28to the coat hangers that had rubber studs
11:30so that they didn't clatter against the wall at night.
11:37So, one thing is certain,
11:39this business model was highly cost-intensive.
11:44[narrator] Nagelmackers' parents lend their son some money,
11:47but it's definitely not enough.
11:49He can merely start his company from it,
11:52the International Sleeping Car Company.
11:54No one imagined, that, 30 years later,
11:57it would be the most successful transport company in the world.
12:03At the age of barely 25,
12:05the young entrepreneur negotiates with Belgian companies
12:09as well as with German and French banks.
12:12He's trying to make a difference with his idea
12:14of a European network of sleeping cars.
12:17Yet, the financiers show considerable reserve.
12:22Unfortunately, there were opposing opinions.
12:25Since I was a banker myself, I can understand why most people thought
12:29his plan was far too risky.
12:31The investments were enormous,
12:32and somebody had to bring up all this money.
12:35So, the banks rejected it.
12:40[narrator] Nagelmackers succeeds in
12:42persuading the Belgian King, Leopold II,
12:45to become a shareholder.
12:46Yet, his majesty never pays for his shares.
12:49However, his recommendations help the young entrepreneur
12:52to conclude contracts with railway administrations
12:55and to put his dream on the tracks.
12:59With sleeping cars in line with his own ideas,
13:02on October 22nd 1872, they are used for the first time.
13:08To start with, on the Ostend-Cologne route,
13:11then from Ostend to Berlin
13:13and, finally, between Paris and Vienna.
13:19Crossing borders in sleeping cars is a first
13:22and there is the ever-present danger of being mugged.
13:32[Nagelmackers] No need for that, Monsieur.
13:33But have you...?
13:37Ah!
13:38-And you? -[clicks gun]
13:40It's even loaded...
13:42and I know how to use it, too.
13:45I hope you shoot better than you write.
13:48As you can see, my dear About,
13:50-I'm still alive! -Mm-hm.
13:53[narrator] So, guns seem more important than tickets.
13:57The route from Vienna onwards is considered particularly dangerous.
14:01Historian Roman Gröger
14:03retraces Nagelmackers' steps
14:05among more than 240 kilometers
14:07of shelves full of records,
14:09in this huge repository
14:11of the Austrian state.
14:14The way Nagelmackers negotiated his contracts has remained
14:17the basis of negotiations
14:19between railway administrations
14:21in international transport even today.
14:27The great thing about the contracts we found
14:29is this list of railway companies that he brought together
14:32under one roof to run his trains.
14:35First his wagons, then his trains.
14:37What intrigues me most about the contract on the Orient Express
14:41is how everything is laid down:
14:43the maximum weight of the train on each section,
14:46the appearance of the cars, the details of the menu,
14:50all this was precisely worked out.
14:53Nagelmackers' enterprise was strategically planned,
14:56from departure to arrival.
15:01[narrator] The Austrian State Archives in Vienna
15:04have succeeded in preserving documents
15:06up to 150 years old.
15:10The files show the extent of distrust
15:13with which railroad officials were viewing the project.
15:19[Gröger] The first contracts were limited to three years.
15:22Only later on did they run for ten.
15:24Yet, Nagelmackers' partners were always extremely hesitant.
15:29[narrator] Having built the first sleeping cars, the visionary has yet another idea.
15:33Although there were makeshift provisions on board,
15:36things were to become more professional.
15:39Nagelmackers has a kitchen installed,
15:42plus rooms for smokers and non-smokers.
15:44It's the first proper dining car in Europe.
15:52For the 1883 inaugural trip,
15:54he develops his rolling restaurant even further.
16:15The logistics in the kitchen were, of course, highly complex
16:18because the space was so limited.
16:21All personnel had to know exactly what they were doing
16:23and how to coordinate their speed.
16:26In principle, it was like the tango.
16:29[chef speaks in French]
16:33[narrator] Heat is provided by wood and coal.
16:38The three-burner stove was called
16:40"Le Piano:" The Piano
16:43and, on this piano,
16:44the chef celebrated the meals.
16:52[Flug] Nagelmackers always tried
16:54to have the best cooks.
16:55Only the best were allowed to work there.
17:09The same applied to the service personnel:
17:12polished, friendly, polite, perfect.
17:14That was the Nagelmackers touch.
17:20[narrator] Fresh vegetables, wines from Bordeaux, fresh fruit.
17:24Nagelmackers has the menus adapted to the countries of transit.
17:28Fresh ingredients are taken on board at every station.
17:31-Merci. -Merci.
17:36[Flug] These meals were so excellent
17:38that often guests would reserve a table just to dine
17:45and then leave the train again at the next suitable station.
17:52To your health, Monsieur About.
17:59[gentle orchestral music playing]
18:08[narrator] The maiden voyage is for invited guests only.
18:12The Times' reporter Henri de Blowitz
18:15writes about the cook:
18:17[de Blowitz] None of us had seen him before.
18:20His apron shows the traces of that glorious battle
18:22he's been fighting for the last 24 hours
18:25and won triumphantly.
18:34[narrator] His colleague About is amazed about the quality
18:37of the arrangements for the night.
18:40[About] As soon as you go to bed,
18:42a discreet ghostly hand in the compartment
18:45extinguishes the light
18:47until you are enveloped in darkness and gently rocked to sleep.
18:58[narrator] In 1872, Nagelmackers invests his last money
19:01in even more comfortable sleeping cars.
19:04He places a huge order with an Austrian company
19:06of wagon-makers in Vienna.
19:08The factory hall where Nagelmackers' cars were built still exists
19:12and they still manufacture axles and bogies in here.
19:21The standards for sleeping cars were redefined at that time
19:26and much of this is due to Nagelmackers.
19:30With the classic suspension on two-axle cars,
19:33each axle was directly connected to the bodywork of the car.
19:39So, any unevenness on the rails
19:41was directly transmitted to the body of the car.
19:50[narrator] The precise interaction of wheels and axles
19:52is a main prerequisite for quiet running and comfort.
19:57However, in 1883, there are even more attractions
20:01concerning the comfort of passengers.
20:10[About] The only disadvantage of Nagelmackers toilets is,
20:14in there, you feel as happy as a pig in a blanket.
20:18You just stay so long that the other passengers
20:22can barely control their need
20:31and, after each visit, a servant comes in and cleans up.
20:36[narrator] The deposits, however, drop down onto the rails.
20:41In 1872, Nagelmackers presents his new sleeping cars
20:45at the biggest PR event of the time:
20:48The 1873 World Fair.
20:50They're a resounding success.
20:53[Gröger] Vienna was the ideal place to advertise for railways,
20:57as it was the railway turntable of the 19th century.
21:00From Vienna, you could go in all directions:
21:03to the Balkans, to Constantinople,
21:05but also to the East and to the North,
21:07to Berlin, and west to Paris.
21:10The public at the World Fair came from all over the world
21:13and had a look at the cars, which were really unique for the time
21:17and offered a degree of comfort that barely existed anywhere else.
21:29[About] In Vienna, extraordinary apparitions show up.
21:33They come to break the rigidity
21:35of men's conversations.
21:40Bonsoir.
21:44[narrator] On the second day of the journey,
21:45ladies board for the first time.
21:48An exception, since traveling is considered dangerous
21:51and, therefore, a man's business.
21:54The Austrian railway director, however,
21:56entrusts Nagelmackers with his wife,
21:59Mrs von Scala
22:00and her younger sister.
22:01To the man from The Times,
22:03the event is worth a note.
22:06[de Blowitz] Your loved ones should never accompany you
22:08to the station for goodbyes
22:11because the elegantly-laid table,
22:14the smell of the food and the silver champagne lid
22:17draw all the attention of the passengers to the dining car
22:21and chase away the sadness
22:23of those leaving in a hurry.
22:33[narrator] With new wagons
22:34and the success of the world exhibition in 1873,
22:38Nagelmackers is able to conclude contracts
22:40with nine railway companies
22:42from five European countries.
22:44However, there are still difficulties in his way.
22:50The German Empire was a collection of individual states
22:53and each had its own national railway
22:56and separate railway administration.
22:58He had to negotiate with all of them and try to reconcile them.
23:03[narrator] The financiers, in particular,
23:05increasingly doubt Nagelmackers' business model.
23:09The use of third-party locomotives and rail tracks
23:12cost a lot of money.
23:15Nagelmackers is left with just the "sleeping car supplement,"
23:18or 20 percent of the first-class fare.
23:22He is financially ruined.
23:30He fought. Again and again.
23:33He then tried a sideways approach.
23:37To reach his goal, he first targeted smaller providers,
23:41spending lavishly on presents,
23:44while hoping that they'd be door-openers to the big provider.
23:52-[narrator] In the middle of bankruptcy... -Thank you.
23:54Nagelmackers receives a visitor.
23:56So then, Colonel Mann.
23:59Bonjour.
24:00-How are you, my friend? -I am fine.
24:03Please.
24:07[narrator] The American railway car builder and outfitter of the US Army
24:10presents his new sleeping car.
24:13He'd like to do business with Nagelmackers.
24:20-[Mann] My latest model... -Aha...
24:24[Mann] Three compartments with four beds each.
24:27-Are there any toilets? -[Mann] Two,
24:28with hot water and a new heating system.
24:32Each compartment will be individually supplied.
24:37-How much will a car cost? -Hmm...
24:41Excellent quality has its price, of course.
24:45[narrator] Nagelmacker's wife is worried
24:47when she learns about her husband's predicament.
24:50How much, then?
24:53[narrator] Although Colonel Mann's cars have only three axles,
24:56they are comfortably equipped with single
24:58and double sleeping compartments,
25:02a well-functioning heating system
25:07and a wine bar with air-conditioning.
25:15Rail travel in the 19th century is a challenge,
25:18although there is heating in the 3rd class as well,
25:20nevertheless, the passengers often freeze bitterly.
25:28[male voice] You can't imagine how cold it was
25:31because the cars were not really insulated,
25:33they were all made of wood.
25:35After some time, there was at least the possibility
25:37of putting coal-fired furnaces in the 3rd class,
25:39which were heated in the car.
25:41That meant it was somewhat warmer,
25:43but, in winter, temperatures couldn't be raised
25:45above ten or eleven degrees Celsius.
25:52I'm glad we finally agreed upon that.
25:54Well, that should be settled then.
25:59[narrator] The colonel's sleeping cars with their new heating system
26:02impress Nagelmackers.
26:04Yet, since he doesn't have enough money,
26:06the American puts the squeeze on him
26:09and demands shares in the Compagnie.
26:25Thank you very much!
26:32[narrator] As part of the contract,
26:33Nagelmackers has to hand over the management.
26:39The company is renamed "Mann Boudoir Sleeping Carriages."
26:43Yet, in his direct, gruff way,
26:45the Colonel has put the sleeping car company back on track.
26:52In 1875, numerous lines begin operating
26:55across Europe and to St. Petersburg,
26:57far in the East.
26:58It seems as if Nagelmackers and Mann are the perfect match.
27:10On the third day of the maiden voyage, Henri de Blowitz notes:
27:15[de Blowitz] After Budapest, everything changes:
27:18the way people dress,
27:19the appearance of the cities,
27:21the proportions of the landscape.
27:24The gates of the Orient are opening before our eyes.
27:31[narrator] Budapest.
27:33The Hungarian capital is a railway hub.
27:36This is where they repair cars...
27:38and change locomotives
27:44and Budapest is still home to an extraordinary collection
27:47of historical vehicles.
27:50Among them, this steam engine.
27:53For Orient Express connoisseur Peter Flug
27:56it holds a special attraction.
27:58The 220.194 was a technical masterpiece,
28:02able to pull the heavy cars of the Orient Express.
28:06In the huge engine shed,
28:08Peter Flug searches for historical evidence.
28:11For many years,
28:12the former banker took time out
28:14to drive as part-time sleeping car conductor
28:17on the Orient Express.
28:20[Flug] A sleeping car conductor back then was a jack of all trades:
28:25host, diplomat, stoker, room service, bodyguard,
28:29manager of a small hotel
28:31with all the trimmings.
28:35[narrator] For decades, Flug has been researching the story of Nagelmackers
28:39and his sleeping car company.
28:41He is considered an authority
28:43on everything connected with the train.
28:46Wow.
28:48[narrator] He knows that there is a unique treasure in the museum:
28:52The last railworthy carriage
28:54from the early years of the Orient Express.
28:58The car is emblazoned with the coat of arms
29:00of Nagelmackers' company,
29:02inspired by the Lions of the Belgian Crown
29:05and in honor of the king.
29:11[Flug] These teak wagons radiate an atmosphere
29:14that is indescribable.
29:16If you look at this car, you are immersed in a bygone world.
29:25[narrator] Yet, it's also a world where business is tough,
29:28as Nagelmackers and his partner are to find out
29:30in 1875.
29:33"Dear business partners, on behalf...
29:36of Mann Railways Sleeping Carriages, let me tell you
29:39that, while we understand your concerns to regulate..."
29:42We don't understand a bloody thing!
29:45The prices in the dining car are of no concern
29:47to the railroad companies whatsoever.
29:50That's our business. It's enough that they dictate our fares.
29:53Who do they think they are?
29:54This is crazy!
29:57[narrator] Mann and Nagelmackers are like fire and ice.
30:01The American is hard-hitting and impatient,
30:03the Belgian, diplomatic and persistent.
30:09Okay.
30:11As they set off, it turned out that Alton Mann was wanted
30:15as a con-man in the United States.
30:17He was also a heavy drinker.
30:21"I'm sure we'll be able to meet in person at the agreed upon time
30:24and find a solution regarding the..."
30:29[Mann] No, we won't!
30:32It's alright!
30:41[narrator] Eventually, Nagelmackers manages to secure a loan
30:45to buy out his rogue partner.
30:52In his wife Marguerite Mermet,
30:54Nagelmackers has an ally who backs him.
30:57As a result, he signs 22 new contracts with railway companies.
31:0253 sleeping cars are now operating between the major European cities,
31:07each of which with between six and twenty passengers per night.
31:11Obviously, Nagelmackers has developed a way of convincing people.
31:20[Blowitz] I was at the Congress of Berlin,
31:22I have interviewed almost all eminent European Politicians:
31:26Otto von Bismark, the Kings of Spain and Romania,
31:30even the Pope...
31:32but Nagelmackers is a mystery to me.
31:35How does he manage to inspire enthusiasm
31:37for his train among politicians
31:40from so many different nations,
31:42all of whom are full of fear
31:43and of mutual distrust?
31:46How does he convince all these different
31:47railway administrations?
31:49Or manage to overcome all the borders?
31:53[narrator] Nagelmackers is not only able to convince people,
31:56he's also a marketing talent.
31:59His cleverly-devised posters
32:01manage to draw attention to his company.
32:05[male voice] The poster was the advertising medium
32:07par excellence at the time.
32:09They were the largest colored elements in the public space,
32:12so, if you wanted to draw attention, you had to put up posters everywhere.
32:23They were highly elaborate, containing a lot of information.
32:26They projected wanderlust.
32:28You could see how it looked in Turkey,
32:30what Spain was like.
32:32They were luring you to faraway places.
32:37[narrator] However, they also draw some unwelcome attention.
32:41Countless times, the Orient Express will be held up.
32:45Bandits derail the train and take hostages.
32:49There are robberies and thefts.
32:58The fear of attack is already present on the maiden voyage.
33:02[men shout in foreign language]
33:13[man speaks in foreign language]
33:19[man speaks in foreign language]
33:36[chimes spoons rhythmically]
33:39[sings in foreign language]
33:41About notes:
33:43[About] Suddenly, to our surprise,
33:46the small gypsy band played like the blazes.
33:53[narrator] Of course, it's Nagelmackers himself
33:55who has hired the men.
33:57The musical "hold-up" is a feint.
33:59[clapping and singing in foreign language]
34:01[narrator] The inaugural trip is supposed to become an unforgettable experience,
34:05with special thrills for his passengers,
34:07a well-staged drama for the newspapers.
34:18[Block] Of course, this is exactly in keeping
34:20with the spirit of the times.
34:22Nagelmackers tries to put together a well-rounded concept.
34:31[narrator] The journey is intended to be a PR coup,
34:34which will resonate as a memorable event among the opinion makers
34:37and indeed, Times correspondent Blowitz
34:40notes about his fellow journalist:
34:44[de Blowitz] I have never seen my colleague About so pleased.
34:53[narrator] But, in the spring of 1883,
34:56Nagelmackers comes under enormous pressure.
35:00He's working on his dream project,
35:02the Train Express d'Orient.
35:05Everywhere, there are posters advertising the event,
35:08but a decisive element is still missing.
35:12Nagelmackers had ordered new four-axle cars
35:15that have not yet been completed.
35:18Nervously, he waits for the message on which everything depends:
35:29A disaster!
35:39Nagelmackers realizes:
35:41With old, three-axle cars, he doesn't stand a chance.
35:45The whole project would misfire.
35:53Vienna.
35:55In the Technical Museum stands the only originally-preserved
35:58three-axle car from that era
36:00and it makes clear why Nagelmackers
36:02insisted on a four-axle vehicle:
36:05a grey, imperial-royal sleeping car.
36:08Empress Elizabeth of Austria used it from 1873 onwards.
36:14A comfortable sofa, carpets, fine fabrics,
36:19gas lighting and heating turned the car
36:21into a hotel on rails.
36:24However, the Empress has complaints
36:27when she takes her sleeping car for a summer vacation.
36:34Empress Elizabeth traveled a lot,
36:36used this car quite often
36:39and, sometimes, she was anything but satisfied,
36:46mostly because there was this constant squeaking and jerking,
36:51but that is a common feature of the two- or three-axle car
36:54and the suspension with leaf springs.
37:01[narrator] On a bend, two-axle cars will jerk about,
37:04while four-axle cars will glide and adapt to the radius.
37:09Today, almost all trains are equipped with four-axles and bogies,
37:13as Georges Nagelmackers envisioned it.
37:19The bogies brought a definite improvement,
37:24simply because, as you can see for yourself,
37:27if there is a bump at this position of the axle,
37:30its force will be distributed through the length of the bogie
37:35and thus be dampened at the support of the car
37:38to almost half the effect.
37:45So, the bogies opened up the possibility
37:47of driving at higher speeds,
37:49because they increased smoothness and stability
37:52while the car was running.
37:59[whistle blows]
38:05[narrator] The first Orient Express with its four-axles and bogies
38:09is incredibly fast for its time,
38:11reaching up to 100 kilometers per hour.
38:14Other fast trains of the era do not even manage half that speed.
38:19[de Blowitz] Nagelmackers' cars roll so smoothly
38:22that I can shave at 80 kilometers an hour
38:25without bleeding. Almost.
38:35[narrator] However, Nagelmackers' comfortable wagons
38:38weigh up to 55 tons each.
38:40Thus, he needs more powerful locomotives.
38:46Near Vienna, in the world's most extensive railway museum,
38:50there are more than 400 vehicles
38:52in an area of 145,000 square meters.
38:56On a track length of 1.2 kilometers,
38:59there's gem after gem.
39:03Between Vienna and Budapest,
39:05the Orient Express is pulled by the 3-10.23.
39:10The 138-ton locomotive
39:12brings almost 1,600 horsepower onto the rails
39:16and reaches up to 100 km/h.
39:21The special feature of the 3-10/23
39:24is that its construction constitutes the high point
39:27of the locomotive designs of the Austro-Hungarian State railway.
39:31It's characterized by its very large driving wheels
39:33with a diameter of 2.14 meters,
39:36which also lend it great elegance.
39:38Being a showpiece, it was used widely
39:41and since it was also very fast,
39:43it was the natural choice to pull luxury trains,
39:45such as the Orient Express.
39:52[narrator] Mathias Slupetzky has been fascinated
39:55by the Orient Express ever since.
39:58In search of these extraordinary wagons,
40:00Mathias Slupetzky and his museum colleagues
40:02have searched station after station
40:05for historically significant wagons.
40:08Thus, they were able to salvage this teak wagon
40:11of the Orient Express,
40:13restoring it to its former glory
40:15would be a dream for Slupetzky.
40:20Among other things, I succeeded in finding
40:22a floor plan of our car on a scale of 1:1.
40:26So, the layout of rooms can be determined exactly,
40:29as well as the dimensions of the compartments.
40:34You also get an idea of the overall construction,
40:37and, in combination with old photographs of these cars,
40:40you can reconstruct what they looked like.
40:44The next step was to get these cars into the museum,
40:47knowing that, in later years, it will be possible
40:50to restore them to their original condition.
40:54[narrator] Day three of the maiden voyage.
40:56In deepest Hungary, the Orient Express is an exotic appearance.
41:01Around here, trains are far from commonplace.
41:04The train is approaching Bucharest.
41:08In his diary, About notes:
41:13[About] Today, there was not a single train in sight
41:17for five hours.
41:20The Orient Express
41:22is ahead of its time,
41:24especially out here in the East.
41:28[narrator] All of a sudden, just before reaching Bucharest,
41:31the Orient Express has to stop.
41:35[loud metallic scraping sound]
41:46A bearing has overheated.
41:48It's impossible to go on.
41:54Hey, you! Hey, what's the problem?
41:58[narrator] Nagelmackers is unable to communicate with the Bulgarian driver.
42:02It would be understandable if the passengers were upset,
42:05yet, the resourceful Nagelmackers
42:08has the situation in hand.
42:10Excursion. Very special.
42:12[narrator] Thanks to his excellent contacts
42:14with the Romanian King Carol,
42:16he's able to arrange a trip to a nearby castle.
42:20[About] I have never seen a castle like this before.
42:23Wood, marble, glass,
42:25interwoven and intertwined.
42:27Fabulous. Ingenious. Imaginative.
42:31In between, towers that scratch the sky like swords.
42:36[narrator] The King is an avid reformer
42:38and the railway is a favorite of his,
42:41so he is massively expanding the network.
42:46Today, politicians like to put themselves in the limelight
42:49as promoters of digitalization.
42:51Back then, it was the railway and technical progress in general.
42:55They built mountain railways, tunnels, bridges and so on
42:59and international railway lines offered an excellent opportunity
43:02to prove yourself as a modern, enlightened ruler.
43:07[narrator] King Carol, by the way, is not the only royal
43:10who dearly loves a railway.
43:12Once, near Bucharest,
43:14a group of horsemen appears unexpectedly
43:16next to the train.
43:23At first, Nagelmackers suspects a robbery,
43:26as it happens quite often in the area.
43:30The real reason for the sudden stop is a surprise,
43:32even for Nagelmackers,
43:35who regularly travels along...
43:44but, then, he recognizes the man.
43:56It's none other than King Ferdinand of Bulgaria.
44:00Your Majesty,
44:02only 40 kilometers per hour are permitted.
44:04Please!
44:06[whistle blows]
44:08The bends are much too tight.
44:10That's dangerous!
44:11[narrator] Even if he has no license,
44:13the king thinks himself a born driver.
44:17Your Majesty, please!
44:22Your Majesty, the other way! Slow down! Now!
44:26-Your Majesty! -[whistle blows]
44:28[Nagelmackers] Throttle back!
44:36Your Majesty, we have some French champagne in the dining car,
44:39chosen by me personally,
44:42may I invite you for a glass?
44:45[narrator] A train that attracts kings
44:47and brings the peoples of Europe closer together
44:50is probably the most important achievement of Nagelmackers.
44:58Nagelmackers had set his aim so high that it was actually unattainable.
45:03In other words, it was constantly necessary for him
45:05to strive towards his goal, knowing that he might never get there,
45:11since there is no absolute perfection where people are involved.
45:17[narrator] Nagelmackers tries to achieve it anyway:
45:20He writes instructions so that every employee will behave perfectly.
45:25Every action and every detail is thought of.
45:31Nagelmackers' attention to detail can be seen in the fact
45:34that even objects which are mere matters of utility for us
45:37were thoroughly designed.
45:40There were plans for everything, including the stepladder.
45:45A ladder is something completely banal,
45:47yet this one is most cleverly constructed
45:49and, due to its folding mechanism,
45:51it's very filigree and intricately designed.
45:54It's a work of art, if you will.
45:58[narrator] Nagelmackers commissions the best designers
46:00and tableware manufacturers of his time.
46:03In his cars, only the most select items of arts and crafts will be used,
46:09most of them custom-made according to his own ideas and specifications.
46:19They even had watch holders
46:21where you have a little hook at the top and a round part below
46:24where the travelers could put their watches.
46:27Even subtle and tiny things like that were thought of.
46:31To me, it's fascinating to see
46:33how people back then took everything into account,
46:36from beginning to end.
46:43[narrator] During the maiden voyage, Nagelmackers personally
46:46takes care of every detail.
46:49At no time should his passengers feel ill at ease.
46:55When he notices that, in the deepest east of Europe,
46:58some of the French passengers feel a bit homesick,
47:00his cook provides a remedy.
47:04[singing "The Marseillaise"]
47:12[narrator] Singing "the Marseillaise" creates a feeling
47:15of togetherness and French spirit.
47:19By simple means like this, Nagelmackers succeeds
47:22in making his passengers feel comfortable.
47:28His overall concept was: Each passenger should feel at home
47:32from the moment he boarded the train until the end of the journey.
47:36[narrator] Despite all his efforts, Nagelmackers is unable
47:39to make it to Constantinople in one go.
47:43On the last section, passengers must switch
47:45to a simple local train and then on to a ship.
47:58Many of the distinguished passengers aren't too enthusiastic
48:01about the prospect of having to dispense with their comfort.
48:093Nagelmackers orders his cook to take along
48:12the best bottles of his wine,
48:14to offer the passengers at least a touch of savoir vivre
48:17during the last few kilometers of the journey,
48:20which will last a total of 81 hours and 40 minutes.
48:28After 15 hours,
48:30the "Espero" of the Austro-Hungarian Lloyd
48:33sails into the Bosporus and then into the Golden Horn.
48:37At dawn, the passengers reach
48:40Constantinople, today's Istanbul.
48:44Under the silhouette of the Hagia Sophia,
48:47the Europeans cross the Galata Bridge,
48:50a sight they've never seen before.
48:54200 years before the Orient Express first departed,
48:58Austrians and Ottomans were still enemies.
49:01Now, Austrians could go to Constantinople
49:03and see the Ottomans there.
49:05How do they live? What do they eat?
49:07What does it look like in the Hagia Sophia?
49:10Do they really all wear turbans?
49:12Even if the Ottoman Empire was forced out of Europe,
49:15maybe the Orient Express has done a little bit
49:18to foster better understanding of oriental culture.
49:23[narrator] Six years later, in the summer of 1889,
49:26the Orient Express goes all the way through to Constantinople,
49:30ending at Sirkeci station.
49:34The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Abdul Hamid II,
49:38had commissioned a German architect, August Jachmund,
49:41to design and build a railway station
49:43adequate to the splendor of the Orient Express.
49:50Even today, the station manager resides in an office
49:53dating back from the early days of the Orient Express.
50:02Maybe, Nagelmackers was even the inventor
50:05of touristic events,
50:07as he has his guests welcomed
50:08by a show of Sufi dervishes.
50:13The passengers of the Orient Express are impressed by the dancers
50:17and their stunning performance.
50:19[traditional Sufi music playing]
50:27Today, the station houses an Orient Express museum
50:30with numerous exhibits from the past.
50:38The director of this exhibition is the descendant
50:41of two passionate railway men.
50:45To us, the last stop of the Orient Express,
50:48the Sirkeci station, is a door to the West.
50:52For Europeans, it's the beginning of the East.
50:55In 1888, when the railway line finally connected Turkey to Europe,
51:00the Orient Express could go directly from Paris to Istanbul.
51:04This increased the number of passengers,
51:07yet there weren't enough hotels in Istanbul to accommodate them.
51:10Either they found no rooms at all, or not the desired comfort.
51:15So, Nagelmackers got the idea of opening a hotel himself.
51:21[narrator] Around 1890, no hotel in Constantinople
51:25had running water or electricity,
51:28until Nagelmackers opens the Pera Palace.
51:32It's one of the few big railway hotels of the 19th century
51:35that still exists.
51:38It is the first house with a library, a restaurant,
51:41electricity and running hot water.
51:45It even has an extraordinary elevator.
51:49It's the second-oldest electrically-driven elevator in Europe,
51:53after that of the Eiffel Tower.
52:01In room 411, Agatha Christie writes her famous crime novel,
52:06Murder on the Orient Express.
52:11Georges Nagelmackers' train not only inspired Agatha Christie,
52:15but also Graham Greene
52:17and many others.
52:23In Europe, and soon in Hollywood, too,
52:26the most famous train in the world
52:27serves as an impressive backdrop.
52:30In numerous movies,
52:32it's a place full of criminal energy,
52:35as if the killers were included in the fare.
52:39In fact, there wasn't a single murder
52:42on the Orient Express.
52:51Edmond About closes his travel diary with a new insight.
52:57[About] I was wrong.
52:59Travel is no longer an ordeal.
53:02Here, you travel in 17-and-a-half-meter-long palaces,
53:06each of them steam-heated,
53:08well-lit and ventilated,
53:11and the seating is as comfortable
53:13as in a posh hotel in Paris.
53:18[narrator] In the following years,
53:19Nagelmackers builds further luxury hotels
53:22at attractive destinations:
53:25in Lisbon, Monte Carlo,
53:27Cairo and other metropolises.
53:32The railway pioneer is expanding his network.
53:36Around 1900, passengers can board in London, Brussels, Paris,
53:40Prague or Trieste, traveling from capital to capital,
53:44or to the Orient.
53:47In 1900, at the World Fair in Paris,
53:50Nagelmackers promotes a connection to the other end of the world
53:53and succeeds in putting the Trans-Siberian Railway on its tracks.
53:59His company develops into an empire
54:02that sends trains to St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Beijing and North Africa.
54:09In 1900, the company employs 6,250 people.
54:20About 1,000 sleeping cars
54:22carry more than 560, 000 passengers per year.
54:27Nagelmackers has connected Europe and Asia
54:31with a working transport network.
54:35[Flug] It's something very positive
54:37to establish communication among people.
54:39In those days, it seemed difficult, even insurmountable
54:42and needed spirits like Nagelmackers.
54:47[narrator] Businessmen, artists, politicians and diplomats
54:50travel with the Orient Express.
54:53Theodor Herzl, the founder of political Zionism,
54:57uses the train countless times for his shuttle diplomacy,
55:00heading for Palestine,
55:01where he'll meet with the German Kaiser,
55:04or to negotiate with emissaries of the Ottoman Empire,
55:07of which Palestine is a part.
55:10Herzl fights for the realization of a Jewish state.
55:13[speaks in foreign language]
55:18During the next decades,
55:19the train often has to change its route.
55:22It's an indication of the respective overall political climate
55:25and the goodwill of politicians.
55:28In 1919, the "Simplon-Orient-Express"
55:31rolls for the first time.
55:34It runs via Basel, through the Simplon Tunnel.
55:37In the Treaty of Versailles, the victorious powers of WWI
55:41had decided that the vanquished states
55:43were to be barred from the route.
55:45A year earlier, a car of the company
55:47had been the stage of a historical event.
55:50Although wagon no. 2419 D
55:52never served with the Orient Express proper,
55:55it was part of its car-pool.
55:57In a clearing near the town of Compiègne in the north of France
56:00in November 1918, the armistice between the German Empire and the Entente
56:05is signed in this very car.
56:11In 1940, after the campaign in France,
56:14the National Socialists, as a means of revenge,
56:17insisted that armistice negotiations took place
56:21in the same car.
56:27It's a historical irony, actually a bitter one,
56:30that of all things, a train that was a symbol
56:33for international understanding
56:36was made into a symbol of humiliation and hatred.
56:50[narrator] However, even this cannot harm the reputation of the Orient Express.
56:55It remains the legendary train of trains,
56:58set on the track by a pioneer in the history of transport.
57:04He initiated something completely new in Europe.
57:07He accomplished the act of crossing borders without waging war.
57:15[narrator] Travel educates.
57:17Even Times correspondent Henri de Blowitz
57:19has come to accept that.
57:23[de Blowitz] Everything I imagined has nothing to do with what I see.
57:28Everything is more beautiful. Much more beautiful.
57:32Because human imagination cannot fathom infinite beauty
57:37and those who read my report will see a fantasy-Bosporus
57:41which has nothing, absolutely nothing,
57:44to do with the real thing.
57:49[narrator] Whether Nagelmackers actually had a vision
57:51of a common Europe without borders
57:53can't be ascertained.
57:55What's certain, however, is that he wanted people to be able
57:58to travel comfortably around the world.
58:02With the Orient Express, he achieved what today seems more difficult than ever:
58:07a borderless link between Occident and Orient.
58:11[epic orchestral music playing]

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